Tripping Eyes
by Aiwe Saito
Summary: 3 months after Sarah, Jareth's sister returns to find the Labyrinth and her brother in disrepair. In the middle of a fierce battle 'tween the Above and Undergrounds, she must choose- her heart or her mind- knowing there will be dire consequences for both.
1. Chapter 1

Carta stared at the large, imposing doors of the labyrinth's main entrance, sighing as the doors opened dramatically.

"Now, would you stop that nonsense? It's only me, for goodness sakes!" she said, scowling a bit at them. They seemed to sag a little, and she sighed again.

"Oh, do come on. You know I didn't mean it. Don't be so sensitive. I'm simply tired," she said a bit crossly, continuing to the right after a moment of thought. She walked for a while, finally halting after a bit and stomping her foot.

"Good afternoon." a voice came from around her knee. She grinned.

"Why, Hello William!" she said, kneeling down. The worm looked slightly affronted, and she smacked her head.

"Oh, Will, do forgive me! I do apologize- I've been so long Aboveground-- and I keep thinking it's just Jareth changing my perception of things. And you and Willam do so look alike." she gave a deep curtsey, and to her relief, Will looked mollified.

"Oh, it's quite all right. We are twins, after all. Won't you come in and see the Mistress, Lady Carta?" the worm asked, and she grinned. She should have realized it was Will- he had always had a more aristocratic and posh manner than his much friendlier twin. She shook her head.

"I'm afraid not, Will. I must be getting back to the city- I've been gone far too long. I do wish you and Sir would come and visit us in the castle sometime," she said regretfully, with a small inward smile. Doubtless he would be bragging to all of his friends that he and his brother had gotten invited to the castle by the kind lady herself.

Jareth had always been horrible at public relations- especially with the grudge-holding worm population. It wouldn't hurt to start making people see Jareth wasn't a complete goblin.

Will shook his head, shuddering a bit.

"I'm afraid not, Lady. Your brother's nasty castle is no place for a worm. We do hope you'll make things better-- the kingdom has missed you dreadfully. I must go, the Mistress is calling. Godspeed, Lady," he said, inching his way back into the wall (as inchworms are wont to do).

"Twas lovely to see you again! Say hello to the Mistress for me!" she yelled into the hole- for as everyone knows, the labyrinth walls swallow sound dreadfully. She got up and walked, getting almost halfway to the castle when she realized something very strange.

It had been easy to find the way out of Mister's path- the path across from him had stood out clearly against the wall. That was extremely abnormal, and just as worrying. It wasn't at all like that when she left!

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, allowing herself to feel the walls around her. She felt for the soft, fuzzy layer that was the magic barrier- and instead met cold, hard stone. She opened her eyes in alarm. Someone (or something) had broken the magical barriers that made the labyrinth the mostly indestructible structure that it was.

She raced up towards the castle, not stopping even to talk to the many people who welcomed her; she ran past the Firey Forest, past the Junkyard of Forgotten Wonders (although she was detained momentarily there- the Junklady always had been one to talk, no matter how fast you were running), past the Bog of Eternal Stench, and all the way to the gates of the Goblin City.

She thrust open the gate and walked through violently, letting the doors slam loudly against the sides. The moment she saw what had been done to her city, her jaw dropped and her blood pressure skyrocketed.

"JARETH!" She yelled so loud that everyone from Hoggle from his "throne" at the Bog to the fairies at the main gate cowered in fear. There was even a small earthquake registered aboveground.

The Goblin King was no exception. She felt a presence behind her, and she whirled around quickly, pointing an accusatory finger at the suave form of her brother.

"What have you _done_?" she asked furiously. He simply raised a heavily-made up eyebrow.

"I have done nothing," he said coolly.

"Liar," she practically growled at him. "Do not tell me nothing hath occured- I need only to gaze upon the ruins of my once great home to see that your conduct hath been sorely lacking. Thou wadst dismembered with thine own defenses," she said, unconsciously reverting to the language their father had always insisted on making their use- an archaic practice that Jareth had cast away with a passion as soon as he had escaped his father's clutches. But the language still stuck with him- would for the rest of his life. It was the way he had used to yell at his father (which he had done on a regular basis growing up), and therefore became the language of anger. Besides- it was excellent for intimidating other humans in neighboring kingdoms.

He stood silent for a moment, blown away by it all. Carta had left the Labyrinth a long time ago- of course, it would be just his luck that she would return when he was repairing the damage from that bloody mortal girl's little stint.

"Thou wouldst do well to remember that thou art not yet the Emperor of these lands- the castle and city, perhaps, but naught else. Tread with wit and the charmed foots of the fairies, brother- I am of ill-temper this day," she said, and her face grew weary. Jareth softened. Even though she was older than him (by quite a lot, actually), their father's perennially cutting remarks had always managed to make her strong visage crumble- and Jareth had always been there to pick up the pieces and take care of her. His older brother, Hermés, was always too wrapped up in his own life and hatred to care anything about his younger siblings, and so Jareth was left to protect his emotionally fragile sister.

"I am sorry I caused you weariness, dear heart. Come, you must be tired. We will speak no more of this until morning," he said with a small smile, his eyes boring into her. She sighed.

"Tis not you brother, who distresses me," she said with a small sigh. Her face drew into a worried frown, and Jareth realized what (or more, _who_), she was talking about.

"I do not trust him, Carta. His affections are... questionable, to say the least, and his humor is foreboding and malicious. I don't see any happiness coming from this," he said, and she smiled wanly.

"And whoever, brother, said that you would have to convince me otherwise?" she said testily, and a horrible thought burrowed its way into Jareth's head.

"He did not... He did not try anything, did he? Please tell me he didn't-- if he did, he will soon feel the faméd wrath of-"

"Peace, love. I tire, and my stomach hungers. Let us go to bed after we eat- we will talk again in the morning. I have many things to speak to you about," she said, linking her arm with her brother's and walking towards the castle.

He sighed lightly as he walked with his belovéd sister. It had been hard without her there-- she had always been his best friend, as well as a second mother; especially when their's was too busy keeping their father from trying to kill Hermés.

Again.

His kingdom as well as he had suffered greatly in her absence- she had been the model princess, just and kind, and was widely loved by the citizens of the labyrinth.

Perhaps now the faith in the kingdom would be restored.


	2. Chapter 2

Jareth stared out at the expanse stretched before him, slender fingers wrapped around the crystal glass that held his favorite Aboveground dark alcohol.

"Would you mind telling me where you've hidden the brandy, dear? I see a glass in your hand, but I can't seem to find the bottle from which it came." He felt a hand on his shoulder.

"It's in the bottom drawer of the cupboard next to the bed," he said, turning around as soon as he felt her hand lift. She found the brandy quickly, swishing around the contents at him playfully.

"Come sit and talk to me, brother-- we have not spoken in _ages,_" Carta said as she sat at the table, placing the bottle down on to the smooth surface. She pressed down on the wood absentmindedly and drew her finger up slowly. Jareth watched, amused, as a glass seemed to draw itself out of the table, the glass quivering a centimeter below her finger.

He had forgotten that she liked to do that.

"How was your sleep?" he asked, holding out his own glass, and she gladly refilled it. She shrugged, and Jareth raised an eyebrow at the mortal gesture.

"It seems your opinion of those Above is not quite as low as it once was," he said, and she shrugged again.

"Things change," she said nonchalantly, taking a light sip from the snifter.

Jareth couldn't argue with that. They sat in silence, each one trying to think of things to say to cover up the silence that was beginning to envelop the two.

"How was your Soul Seeking?" he asked quietly.

"It was good, actually. I... I had a good time, and I went through the cycle with no problems whatsoever. It was strange, though, being Above for so long. I had almost forgotten what it was like to live down here- although I do remember it used to be a bit lighter down here," she said with a soft smile. Jareth shrugged, leaning back and dropping his crossed feet on the table.

"The mortals are getting closer and closer, Carta. They have things... things we've never seen before. We just had one come in yesterday- luckily we were able to get everything under control. The man simply thought he was dreaming Above, not actually down here- kept babbling nonsense, the fool; but we were lucky enough to be able to get some information out of him," he said, chewing his lip a little with anxiety.

She glared at his dramatic pause, but he simply gave her a blank stare in return. She sighed.

"I don't suppose you'd like to enlighten me with a sample of the information?" she asked, and he blinked a couple of times, rubbing his temples.

"There are more coming. Lots more. We don't exactly know when or how, but it's definitely sooner than we'd like. That's why it's so much darker down here-- too many holes or thinnings in the dome for sunlight mean that many more opportunities for them to come down and take over us all," he said roughly, and she let out a laugh.

"You don't think you're being overly paranoid, brother? They aren't out to get you, you know," she said, amused, and he shrugged.

"This kingdom can't handle anything else going wrong, Carta, the labyrinth is too frail as it is. It's been difficult for it, not having a heart all of these years," he said, and her hand flew to her heart, as if she'd been stabbed.

"I didn't think... I thought that because Aunt Rina was still alive, it would automatically use her instead of me..." she said chokily, and Jareth hastened to comfort his now crying sister.

"It did for a while, darling, until Aunt Rina died. It tried me, but apparently it found me much too disagreeable, so it's been living off of it's reserves since then. It should get better now that you're back, but we don't have a lot of time."

She sniffled a little, and her brother leaned back, satisfied that he had averted the crisis.

"Why don't we have a lot of time?" she asked, and he almost smacked his head.

Apparently not.

"It's dying, Carta. It needed a heart, which it has now, but in the meantime, our defenses are weak, and so am I. I was unfortunate enough to have a... _Visitor_ here while you were gone," he said heavily, and she raised an eyebrow.

"A visitor or a _Visitor_?" she asked, and he gave her a pointed glare.

"Would I be so concerned about it if it was the former?" he said irritably, and she shrank back a little, startled by the intensity of his voice as well as the statement.

"I'm assuming she was unsuccessful, then? Goodness, Jareth, that's the 10,000th girl in the last half-millennium!" she said, and he rubbed his temples in frustration.

"I can't make the human race smarter, Carta! Although they are getting better- this one actually got all the way through," he said, and she gasped.

"_Really?_ But that's impossible! How could she have gotten through and not still be here?" she asked incredulously, and he sighed, shrinking back into his chair.

"She refused the offer; besides, she wasn't the _one_, anyway." He drained his glass and poured another one, finishing it with a vehement slam against the hardwood.

Many mortals are unaware of the fact that their saying that a person is, "The One", is actually derived from an old Labyrinthian royal custom.

Once a king or queen is of marriageable age, young people of the opposite sex will begin coming through the labyrinth, all looking for their younger sibling, which the Goblin King/Queen is required to steal (per page 321 of "_So you're the Goblin King/Queen_"). The young person then has 13 hours to find the child or else the child supposedly gets turned into a goblin (although they usually just get sent off to the Moor sprites for changelings). If they successfully complete the labyrinth, befriend a Labyrinth resident, learn something-or-other-about themselves, do a number of other interesting tasks and accept the offer, they become the mate of the Goblin King/Queen.

The _one _is usually the only one that can do this- for there to be two _one_s is highly irregular, for everyone knows that there are never _two _ones.

"Well, if she wasn't the one, then how did she get through?"

"Hoggle, the little moron."

She smiled. "That's no way to talk about my _personal _ground-keeper and royal advisor," she said, hoping to get a rise out of her brother- but she was rewarded with a stony silence. She decided to try a little gentler approach.

"Why are you so upset about this, love? This isn't the first one who's failed," she said soothingly, and he sighed, flicking his blonde hair back out of his sulking face.

"I know that, but I really thought... I mean, she did everything she was supposed to- wasn't I supposed to think she _was _the _one?_" he asked, taking a sip of his drink, and she fidgeted with one of the many creases on her dress.

"So you're... disappointed?" she asked, looking slightly confused as to what he meant.

Three hundred years away from a sibling tends to make you a little less astute.

"Of _course _I'm disappointed! Wouldn't you be? I thought that my problem would finally be _solved!_" he said angrily, and she raised an eyebrow.

"So you aren't... sad, or anything?"

"Well, a bit, yes, but not really... Why, what are you trying to..." he trailed off, looking just as confused to her meaning as she had to his.

"Did you... you know," she widened her eyes a little for effect, and Jareth gave a shudder, realizing her meaning.

"Heavens no! What kind of a sentimental fool do you take me for, Carta ? You're talking like a lovesick mortal," he said with a small laugh of disbelief. Carta turned to the window, smiling at the scene that stretched before her. The dusty yellow of her homeland was a welcome change from the view of the apartment building penthouse that had been her previous residence.

"I better be seeing to things, Jareth. You're in no state to do anything today- go enjoy a day off, I'll just go outside and let everyone know I'm back, hmm? And do get the goblins to get you something to eat, you look practically e_maciated,_" she said, getting up from the table and kissing her brother on the cheek as she left the room.

She closed the door behind her and smiled.

"Time to pay Hoggle a little visit," she said, fastening her cloak and shutting the servant's door as she left the castle.

He'd never see it coming.

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See that pretty blue-ish button? You should press it and leave a review. I'm not really sure where this story is going, so any feedback would be helpful.

-Ai


	3. Chapter 3

Carta stared out at the endless expanse of barren wasteland that surrounded the labyrinth, her eyes searching for the spindly grey tree that marked the portal to the Aboveground. Her eyes honed in on it, and she smiled as she translocated herself there; from the portal, she could get a good view of the entire outer area as well as the first ring-- Hoggle's favourite hiding places.

"Come out, come out wherever you are," she murmured, eyes scanning the greenery for any sign of the dwarf. She finally found him, tending his garden, and she scowled, mentally reprimanding herself for not automatically going there first.

After all, a person's house would be the most _obvious _place to go when looking for someone.

She moved herself a few feet behind him silently, revelling in the rushing, warm feeling that translocating gave her. It felt good to do it again, after so long, since such things were forbidden during Soul-Seeking; using so-called "normal" methods of transportation were part of the journey into adulthood and maturity.

Carta crept noiselessly behind the hunched figure, contorting her visage into a feminine version of her brother's icy expression.

"Hoggle." The dwarf jumped high into the air, spraying the water everywhere but on his plants. Carta cocked an eyebrow at the wet spots beginning to show on her skirts, but simply stared at the Labyrinthian in front of her.

"Oh, I'm so so sorry, you startled me, Lady Carta, I didn't mean to spill on you, I can't tell you how honoured I am to-"

"Cut the chatter, dwarf," she said sharply, and he stopped mid-bow, straightening out and shaking his head.

"Too much like your brother for your own damn good," he said grumpily, and she gave him a small grin.

"Well, now that we have that out of the way, what happened while I was Aboveground?" she asked, and he waited for a moment, frozen, his eyes darting from side to side before he shrugged.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said indifferently, picking up the watering can and continuing his earlier task.

The next think he knew, Carta's eyes were flashing dangerously at him, an inch from his face.

"Liar. _What. HAPPENED_? And DON'T try and get out of this, before I MAKE my brother send you to the Bog!" she said in a rather deadly tone, and Hoggle gulped.

"Oh, All right, I'll tell you—but how about a cup of tea first?" he said, and she smiled as they entered the dwarf's modest (but quite cluttered) home.

"That sounds nice, Hoggle. Here—let me do the honours," she said as they sat down. She glared at the rickety table and pulled two quivering cupfuls of deep amber liquid out of it, smiling through the tendrils of steam at Hoggle's horrified face.

Ha. The silly dwarf had thought he could distract her, probably with some type of silly conversation of some sort or another—and honestly, before her Soul-Seeking, he would have. But she was an adult now, and would act like one. Knowing he had been caught, Hoggle sighed deeply.

"Like I said—too much like your brother," he muttered as a last-ditch attempt to try and keep her efforts at bay, but a pointed glare silenced his protests.

"Oh, all right, all right. About two months ago, a girl wished away her brother after reading that stupid book that old mortal from Haerton wrote, remember him, the one that stumbled in here and you and Jareth kept tricking him and—anyway, she was able, through faults of both Jareth's and my own, to get through the Labyrinth within the time limit. He asked her the question, as per protocol, and she refused. Seems to me that was just too much for the barriers—they broke and the city fell into darkness, Jareth banished me here, and it's been nasty and horrible for the last three months, and your brother's been doing nothing about it," Hoggle said, flapping his arms a bit and stomping as he spoke.

Carta tapped her lip in thought. She had thought as much, but Hoggle's little speech just confirmed it. Now, if only they could figure out exactly what made the barriers break, they could work on fixing them.

"About the barriers, Hoggle. Perhaps Jareth had forgotten to do routine maintenance; or maybe he broke them himself..." she said, trailing off, and Hoggle bit his lip in an unusual display of humility.

"My lady... If I may be so bold, might I perhaps... suggest what might have happened?" he asked tentatively. She gave him an incredulous look.

"What else do I keep you around for? Do you really think I couldn't get a mindless goblin to water my plants?" she asked in disbelief, and Hoggle shrugged.

"When you left, Jareth was distraught. He looked everywhere for you, the idiot, before he finally realized how old you were and that you must have gone Soul-Seeking. He comforted himself with the fact that you would be back soon, but after the first two hundred years without you, he stopped being the same person, the same ruler. He started going into these moods, where he'd be angry, even violent. He started forgetting things that reminded him of you—things like my name. The moron hasn't gotten it right once these past ninety-nine years!

I think the Labyrinth missed you too, Carta, missed your presence—after two hundred and ninety nine years, I think it missed any female presence, really; so when Sarah, the girl who had wished her brother away, entered... it just grabbed, placing all of its hopes on her. It must have drained the Labyrinth itself when she left, which could have broken the barriers..." he said, after some thought, and Carta smiled.

"And that, Hoggle, is why I made my brother promise not to ever throw you into the Bog of Eternal Stench, " she said, pushing her untouched teacup back into the table with a soft pat as she stood up. She was at the door in an instant, swinging it open gracefully. She turned back to grin at her ex-advisor.

"Oh, and by the way, Hoggle dear—consider your banishment revoked; I'll see you at the palace for work. I can't have my brother exiling all the good looking men," she said with a laugh, but before Hoggle could do anything but sputter and blush, she was gone.

"Damn Fae, think they can do anything they want, too much like her damn brother," were the last words Carta heard as she ran away, giggling like a child.

Just because her Soul-Seeking was over, that didn't mean she couldn't have any fun, right?

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You guys should really review. Because you love me. Tell me what's good, what's bad, what you like, what you hate. Come on, folks, step right up and tell me what you think!- Ai


	4. Chapter 4

Read and Review!

Disclaimer: Jim Henson, Jim Henson, I'd love an extension (of your wealth and the rights to Labyrinth's invention)

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Sarah Williams stared at the blank monitor in front of her, willing the words to flow from her brain to the document on the screen.

_When one believes in what one cannot see...No, that's no good. What must be understood about fantasy is that... no, that's no good either. All that glitters, is not gold, and all that is spoken... dammit, what am I even trying to SAY__?_

"Hey, Sarah, how's that piece coming? I'm about to close up, but Kelling wants it by Friday so that it can be in Sunday's paper, and don't forget that we need that other column on that new Michael J. Fox movie by Saturday as well!" The cheery voice startled her out of her reverie.

"It's going great, I'm almost done, but I'll stay back a little while longer. Don't worry about closing up, I'll do it! Tell Kelling it'll be in by Friday, no problem," she said with an easy smile, and the bouncy girl who had spoken earlier gave Sarah an easy grin and a wave before exiting, turning off the other lights and closing the main office door behind her; Sarah slouched in her chair, rubbing her temples.

_Fat chance,_ she thought; she hated this stupid job, this stupid newspaper. Sure, she had wanted to write, but not _this _kind of writing! She wanted to write fantasy books, novels, the kind she had read as a child, the kind you could read and get lost in and hide and never come out of.

The kind like the Labyrinth.

But of course, she had to be _sensible_. She had to think about _her future_.

Sarah scoffed at her own foolish childishness, shaking her head as she turned back to her work. As much as she hated it, there was no more time for those kinds of thoughts anymore. If she wanted to go to college, she needed money; and this job just so happened to provide a reasonable amount of it.

Suddenly, there was a small shimmer in the corner of Sarah's rather spacious office, and the dark-haired girl sat straight up in her chair, eyes darting around, heart pounding.

"He-he-hello? Is anyone there?" she asked warily, but there was no answer. Her heart began to beat just a little faster... she didn't dare hope... could it be?

"King Jareth?" she whispered, but was greeted with only silence in response.

Well, momentary silence anyway.

"So sorry to disappoint." Sarah whipped her head around at the ice-cold voice behind her, gasping at the young woman leaning against the bookcase.

She was beautiful, in that same strange, hard, way that Jareth had been beautiful; flaming mismatched eyes pierced her brows, unnerving Sarah, making her feel exhilarated and ashamed all at once.

"Wh-Who are you?" she asked, slightly afraid, and the woman's eyes softened for a fraction of a second before returning to their former diamond consistency.

"My name is Carta-- although I doubt that information does you any good. You can probably already guess where I'm from, so I won't waste breath on that. I'm here to ask you some questions and tell you some facts, and you will listen no matter what. Have I made myself clear?" Carta's voice practically drew blood from Sarah, and she nodded unhesitatingly. Carta relaxed a little.

"Good. I'm glad we have an accord. Now, where to start... perhaps I should tell you exactly who I am. I'm Jareth's sister," she said with a hint of a smile, and Sarah's jaw dropped.

"Si-si-_sister_?" she asked incredulously, and Carta let out a laugh.

"I'm afraid so. We have another brother too, Hermés, but we tend not to speak about him," she said darkly, and Sarah thought that she'd rather like that lovely laugh to come back.

"See, the thing is, something's happened with the Labyrinth and Jareth's tied down over there, and with Hermés off doing god knows what, here I am," she said, gesturing expansively towards the office.

"No offense meant, Princess," (after all, if King Jareth was her brother, Sarah figured, she must be a princess of some sort, right?) "but what does all of this have to do with me?" she asked curiously, and the Goblin Princess gave her a not-unkind look.

"I was getting there," she said off-handedly. "What it has to do with _you_, my dear mortal, is that for some odd reason, when you left, the Labyrinth's barriers completely died. Disappeared. And _no one_ knows why_._ This has never happened before, you see, so this is a completely new experience for us-- therefore we have no reason but to suspect that it was somehow connected to you--" Carta held up a hand as Sarah opened her mouth to protest, "_even if_ you may not have meant to do anything."

"But if it had been something to do with me, wouldn't King Jareth have noticed? He was keeping watch on me the whole time, wasn't he, if I had done something strange, wouldn't he have seen it?" Sarah asked, confused, and Carta shook her head.

"I don't mean that kind of thing, Sarah, but another thing you have to understand is that when there's a visitor in the labyrinth, especially one of the opposite sex, an immense strain is put on any members of the Fae that reside in the Labyrinth. We can't eat, we can't sleep-- everything we do is for the visitor. Surveillance is almost twenty-four seven by both the King and a person called the Heart, which is currently me, and all others are in... what you might call a state of shock. For those members of the labyrinth, there is nothing. There is no sunlight-- their hearts stop; and sometimes..." Carta trailed off, and Sarah leaned in closer.

"Sometimes?" she asked, desperate for information, and the look Carta gave her was enough to make her heart simultaneously break and flinch.

"They don't restart."


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: So I've been looking for a beta for this story, but no one's come forward-- if you would like to, please let me know-- and if I have a beta, it will entice me to put chapters out faster...

* * *

Jareth watched Sarah from his langorous perch on his throne, pensive.

How had he ever thought she was the one?

She was pretty, yes, and he had always been carnal-- but he could have easily found a more suitable, disposable woman for his needs. Carta herself had often shared his bed, as was common for Fae-- he was no stranger to lust.

But it wasn't that, he could recognize desire in himself. She had nothing-- no extra intelligence-- that much was plain, perhaps a mite compassionate, but still no different than any other young girl who'd gone through the Labyrinth. So what was it? Why had he gotten so caught up in this girl, this Visitor? What made her different than the rest?

"Drink?"

"Oh, please," he replied, his eyes staying on the ball at the tip of his fingers. He grinned as the full glass pressed against his hand.

"Are you spying on our guest, darling?"

He placed the sphere next to his throne, complacent as he took a small sip of the liquor.

"Of course I am. The girl who causes an infinite amount of problems in my kingdom reappears in my guest bedroom, and you don't expect me to watch? Carta, what _are _you doing?"

"Trying to fix your problem. How did you even know she was here?"

He leveled his mismatched eyes at her, letting one eyebrow twitch up.

"Did your lengthy abandonment impair your brain? This is my kingdom, Carta. I am the almighty, the alpha-omega-what-have-you-and _no one_ can come in here without my knowledge. Especially _not _her."

"Well, Oh Great Alpha-Omega-Sir-What-have-you, tell me why it is then that your kingdom is still in ruins? I am--"

"Was."

"-- and will be a large part of your kingdom, Jareth! Whatever happens to the Labyrinth, happens to me too. Until it is repaired, I am no longer the heart. That leaves me especially vulnerable, Jareth, and you know it!"

He pouted, turning back to his glass and his crystal. Still sleeping.

"I still don't see what the girl has to do with it."

"Everything fell apart when she left. You know as well as I do that whatever happened relates to her. You know it."

"Who's that at the door?"

"That's a little childish, even for you, Jare--"

"No, Carta, someone's coming in the front door." He grabbed the crystal on the armrest, looking at her with dark, angry eyes as soon as the swirling picture cleared.

"Hide behind my throne. We'll speak of this later."

She followed his instructions quickly, swiftly moving behind the large stone seat.

"Hail, King Jareth!" The call came from behind the door-- Jareth stood up quickly as the broad, dark man walked in.

"Hail, Sivan. What brings you to the Citadel?" His voice was pleasant, but his visage showed his displeasure at the man's presence-- the Fae before him mirrored his expression.

"No disrespect meant, Jareth, but I think you know exactly why I'm here. Your sister is here, is she not?"

"You know perfectly well she went Soul-Seeking."

"I also know you have little problem lying to me. I was told that she returned from her journey late yesterday."

"By whom?" Jareth's voice was thunderous, resonating through the dense walls; even Carta shook a little from her perch behind the throne. Sivan didn't answer, and Jareth's glare intensified.

_"By whom were you told?" _He was truly angry now, terrible in his fury; Sivan shook his head. He bowed quickly, his steps quick but sure as he walked towards the entrance, stopping at the door.

"I will have my end of the bargain, Jareth. The two of you can't hide forever." With that, the man swept out, and Jareth waited until the steps died down to swing his own accusing gaze on his sister.

"I thought you said he was taken care of!"

"I thought he was! I told him the bargain was invalid, that it had to be-- and he said he understood. I thought that was the end of it!"

"Well, apparently no--"

"Hello?" A small voice disturbed the two siblings, and they turned, identical high eyebrows arched, the exact same thin lips parted slightly in surprise. Carta, unsurprisingly, found her voice first.

"Good Morning, Sarah. I hope our little spat didn't disturb your sleep."

"Oh, no, no, I just woke up and wandered here," she replied, but her eyes were fixed on the Goblin King, who simply glared at Carta venomously before stalking out through the side entrance. Sarah watched him leave, a sad look on her face, and Carta sighed, her heart softening.

"Would you like some breakfast? Jareth and I don't eat much in the morning, but I do realize you probably have different habits."

"Oh no, I don't want to be any trouble--"

"No trouble," Carta said simply, gesturing to her left, where there now lay a small table laden with bright, ripe fruit, fresh cheeses and a steaming carafe. "Is there anything else you'll need?"

Sarah simply shook her head, her eyes wide as she walked towards her breakfast, and Carta let out a small laugh.

"I must leave you now, Sarah, but I'll be back soon. Eat as much as you like-- our stores are plentiful, and we have much to do today," Carta said, and with a satisfied smile, left Sarah to her thoughts and her breakfast.


End file.
